Lisbon's Day Off
by TeresaJane
Summary: Jane irks Lisbon one too many times, so she takes a day off to the beach. But Jane doesn't realize that there's something deeper bothering her... Oneshot.


**A/N: Hey guys! *blows kisses* I missed you so much! I've been very busy, and I'm actually working on **_**five**_** fanfics (yes, The Beginning of the End is one of them, I promise) and then it was planting season, and then my grampa passed away, and so, for my family, it's **_**still **_**planting season and just **_**OI!**_** I have so much to do and I'm blathering on about it, when you would probably much rather just read the fanfic, am I right? So here you go! Enjoy! (If possible: this isn't my best work (not that that's any better than this…))**

**Disclaimer: Much in the ways of IPods, television, cellular phones, and Windows 7, The Mentalist… was **_**not**_** my idea.**

**Warnings: Patrick Jane stripping. :) You'll see what I mean when you read it. (Not like **_**that**_**, Mom!) **

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**Lisbon's Day Off**

Jane walked into the bullpen and immediately knew something was wrong. Where was the commanding voice giving orders? Where was the familiar scent of cinnamon perfume?

Where was Lisbon?

Van Pelt, who had been typing something on her laptop, noticed his confused expression and said, "She took today off."

Jane looked at her, dumbstruck. "Why?"

"She was here earlier. She got mad because you weren't here yet, said, 'I'm taking today off. Cho's in charge,' and left."

"She left because of _me_?"

"Yes." Van Pelt went back to her typing.

Jane blinked and was silent. Lisbon did _not_ take days off, not for anything. Why was today different? It wasn't anyone's birthday or a national holiday, nor was it the anniversary of her mother's or father's death. No, today, she was angry with him.

_Why?_

"Do you know where she went?" Jane asked.

"Yes."

Jane waited for Van Pelt to tell him Lisbon's location, but she didn't. "Well?" he pressed.

"I'm not telling you where she is, Jane," Van Pelt said. "You'll just go and annoy her there and ruin her day off at the beach—oh, dammit."

Jane grinned. "Thanks, Grace. I won't tell Lisbon." He turned and walked back out of the bullpen, Van Pelt calling after him, "Damn you!"

Jane went to his car and formulated a plan. He would casually "bump into" Lisbon at the beach, then ask why today was so special and what he had done this time to tick her off.

Hopefully poor Van Pelt wouldn't get into too much trouble, because Lisbon wasn't going to enjoy him showing up on her day off. Maybe she would be in a better mood now.

Maybe , but probably not.

At first, Jane thought Lisbon would have gone to the beach nearest to CBI. But Lisbon, no matter how tough she acted, was still a woman, and he knew from experience that every time they went somewhere different, they _had_ to change their clothes. _Had_ to. So she was probably at the beach closest to her apartment.

_Why had she gone to the beach, anyway?_ Jane thought as he drove. It looked like it was going to rain. Then again, that was probably why she had opted for the beach instead of staying at home; on a day like this, there wouldn't be many people, if any, at most of the beaches around here.

Lisbon certainly wanted a day off badly. By the time Jane got to the beach, the sky had darkened even more and he thought Lisbon would have left already. But, besides his, hers was the only car there. Jane got out of his car and looked around. He saw Lisbon walking up the beach, toward her car.

And she had definitely changed her clothes. Instead of her normal work attire, Lisbon was now wearing a bikini and cutoff shorts. Jane didn't think Hightower would let _anyone_ get away with that outfit at CBI.

Except maybe him.

"_Jane?_" Lisbon shouted in surprise.

"Hi, Lisbon!" he called, waving. If she was trying to get to her car, she had no choice but to walk by him. He could hear her muttering curses as she approached him.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"Why did you take the day off?" he countered. "What terrible, much-paperwork-involved thing did I do now?"

She turned her glare to the sand. "You were late. Again."

"Exactly. I'm always late. What set you off about it today?"

"I'm sick of it! Now go away and leave me alone!"

"No, Lisbon. Tell me why."

She looked at him, disgusted, and sighed in defeat. "Can we walk?" she asked.

"Of course," Jane replied, grinning. "This is _your_ day off. Just hang on a minute." He took off his jacket and vest, then his shoes and socks, and tossed them into his car. Even though it was going to rain, it was still hot. "There," he said as he undid a few buttons on his shirt and rolled up his sleeves. "Let's go." He started walking away from her. She followed him. After ten minutes of silence, Jane said, "Okay. Start talking."

"I'm just so sick of you breaking the rules," she said.

"What, because you have to fill out the paperwork?"

"No, because every time you do something you're not supposed to, the line between me having a job and me _not_ having a job gets thinner." Lisbon stopped walking. Jane did, too, and looked at her, wincing inwardly when he saw the glimmer of tears in her eyes. "Can't you see how much this job means to me? I don't know how to do anything else… If Hightower fired me, I wouldn't be able to live with it." She sat down in the sand, hugging her knees to her chest, and was quiet. After a while, she murmured, "I've already accepted that it will happen, but I don't want it to."

Jane just stood there, trying to think of something to say. He didn't want to tell her that she wouldn't lose her job, because he wasn't sure if it would be a lie or not. He knew that her career meant everything to her. He said the only thing he could think of.

"I'm sorry."

"Yes, I'm sure you are," Lisbon said bitterly. "But that doesn't change anything."

"I know." Jane sat beside her as thunder rumbled in the distance. "But I wish it did."

"So do I."

They stared out at the ocean, at the advancing gray clouds. It began to mist, but they didn't move.

Finally, Jane said, "We should go."

"You can if you want," Lisbon said. "I'm staying."

"I'm not going to leave you."

Lisbon looked at him, his words startling her. Jane himself was surprised, but recovered swiftly. "Come on," he said. "You'll catch something sitting out here with _that_ on."

Lisbon looked down at herself, then back at him. "I don't care."

"Lisbon, now isn't the time to be stubborn. If you stay, you'll have to call in sick to work."

"I'll probably get fired when I get back, anyway," Lisbon retorted venomously.

Jane cringed. "Lisbon, please." She didn't answer him. It began to rain harder, and thunder boomed nearby. "Come on," he begged. Lisbon ignored him, moving so that she was lying on her back, closing her eyes and smiling slightly. She looked so peaceful that Jane stopped talking and watched her. He didn't want to disturb her anymore, so he lay down beside her. He thought she'd change her mind soon and want to leave.

He was wrong. Lisbon's breathing slowed, and Jane realized that she'd fallen asleep. How that was remotely possible, given that it was raining and thundering, he had no idea. He didn't want her to get sick—firstly, because she'd miss work, and secondly, because she'd blame him—but he wasn't about to carry her back to her car. As he pondered what to do, the rain began to recede. Only when it stopped completely did he notice, because Lisbon stirred and opened her eyes.

"Hey," he said, smiling at her.

She groaned and closed her eyes again. "You're still here?" she asked.

"I told you I wasn't leaving you."

"You lie a lot."

"Are you ready to leave now?"

Lisbon opened her eyes. "Are you kidding?" She sat up and shook the sand out of her hair. "You owe me, Jane. You came and bothered me on my day off. How are you going to make it up to me, hmm?"

"You are a devious little cop," Jane said. "How do you want me to make it up to you?"

She grinned evilly, and, out of nowhere, threw a handful of sand at him. Then she jumped up and ran away from him, out of throwing range.

It took Jane a moment to realize what Lisbon was doing, but suddenly it hit him. She was throwing aside her work-aholic self and having fun her way: by teasing him.

Well, two could play at this game. He scooped up some sand of his own, stood up, and threw it at her. It landed five feet in front of her.

She laughed. "Can't you throw?" she called.

"I'm out of practice," he answered. "Just give me a minute to get warmed up."

She laughed again, picked up more sand, and tossed it. It hit him in the shoulder.

"That's not fair," Jane whined. "You're a cop!"

"You're just jealous!"

Jane gathered up more sand and flung it as hard as he could, hitting Lisbon in the stomach. She squealed like a five-year-old girl. Now it was Jane's turn to laugh. Lisbon threw more sand at him and hit him in the arm. She turned and retreated into the water. Jane ran after her, not caring about the fact that he wasn't dressed for it. Before he stepped into the water, he got two handfuls of sand and hid them behind his back. Then he made his way over to her, stopping directly in front of her and smirking.

"Jane, don't do it," Lisbon warned. Jane noticed she had her own hands behind her.

"Do what?" Jane asked innocently.

"This," she answered, shoving sand down his shirt. Jane revealed his hands and smeared the sand on her arms and neck. "I surrender!" she yelled, smacking his hands away.

"Truce?" Jane stuck his hand out.

"Truce," Lisbon said, shaking it. Then she tackled him, pushing his head under the water. He struggled to the surface.

"You little conniving woman," Jane sputtered. "I thought we had a truce?"

"I crossed my fingers. Deal with it."

"Oh, I will." He grabbed her and dunked her. "Catch me if you can!" he yelled, laughing and running away from her. Lisbon gave chase, laughing with him. Maybe she would take more days off from now on.

And she had to admit: if every one of them could be like this, they would definitely be worth missing work for.

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**A/N: Hope you liked it! See that button down there? Right down there? Yeah, that one. Do me a favor and click it. Thanks so much!**


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